Arashi Shinpei IV (四代目嵐新平 - from 11/1797 to 10/1815) (actor before 1817)
Arashi Tsunetaro (嵐常太郎 until 10/1797)Arashi Sanjūrō V (五代目] 嵐 三十郎 - from 11/1815)
Links
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - an 1812 Kunisada triptych backstage at the Morita-za (they identify this actor as Shinbei III, a mistake)Biography:
Little is known of this Kamigata actor. His birth date is unknown. His first stage name was Arashi Tsunetarō. He took the name Shinpei IV in 11/1797. He went to Edo in 4/1801. He returned home in the 1810s and died in 1817 according to Kabuki21.
According to the Japan Arts Council Shinpei may have held his name only until 1815, because that year another actor became Shinpei V.
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Kabuki21 wrote: "Date of birth unknown. He started his career in Kamigata, performing under the name of Arashi Tsunetarō. He took the name of Arashi Shinpei IV in the 11th lunar month of 1797 in Ōsaka, performing in the kaomise drama "Hanekonda Uma no Kaomise", which was produced by Mimasu Daijirō at the Wakadayû no Shibai and also celebrated the shūmeiof Arashi San'emon VIII. He went to Edo in the 4th lunar month of 1801 and stayed there for quite a long time. He went back to Kamigata in the middle of the 1810s. He took the name of Arashi Sanjūrō V in the 11th lunar month of 1815 in Kamigata, went to Edo in Fall 1816 and took back the name of Arashi Shinpei IV in the 11th lunar month of 1816 at the Kiriza. His rank in the 1817 Edo hyōbanki (1st lunar month of 1817), jitsuaku/katakiyaku section, was jō-jō (superior - superior) [visual]. No record afterwards."
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Prints from this actor's lifetime often refer to him as Arashi Shinbei (or Shinpei) III. This is true of both the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Waseda University. Clearly other sources don't agree, but this may be due to the fact that one mistake can often be repeated by later sources. This is beyond our ability to resolve such confusion. For example, this actor is referred to as Arashi Shincha by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, but apparently this is wrong.
